The monarch caterpillar feeds on milkweed. Milkweed manufactures a powerful toxin that can, in most cases, stop the heart of any creature who eats enough of it. However, the monarch caterpillar itself is unharmed by this poison. In fact, the caterpillar stores the poison in its body, and this poison remains even after the caterpillar has turned into a butterfly. 

Ref: Walker, Tim. "Butterflies and Bad Taste." Science News, Vol. 139. P. 348. Photo: Viceroy butterfly. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License.

 

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